How IBonomics Flashcards Work

Cards you find difficult come back sooner. Cards you know well come back less often.

For example, imagine you keep forgetting the definition of opportunity cost. You might see that card several times this week. Once you start answering it easily, you may only see it every few weeks or months.

What should I press after each card?

Choose the button that best matches how well you remembered the answer.

Again means you forgot it. Hard means you remembered it with difficulty. Good means you knew it. Easy means the answer felt obvious.

Your choice decides how soon the card comes back.

Rating	First time learning	Later reviews
Again	You will see the card again in about 10 minutes.	You forgot the answer, so the card comes back much sooner. You will see it again in about 10 minutes and then more often over the next few days.
Hard	You will see the card again in about 10 minutes.	You remembered the answer, but it was difficult. The card still moves forward, just more slowly.
Good	You will see the card again tomorrow.	You remembered the answer well, so the next review moves further away. For example, a card you reviewed after 6 days might come back in about 15 days.
Easy	You will see the card again in 4 days.	You knew the answer easily, so the card moves further into the future and appears less often.

Your cards adjust to you

Every card builds its own schedule based on your answers.

Imagine you are studying the definition of inflation. At first you might see the card several times in a few days. If you keep pressing Good or Easy, the time between reviews becomes longer. You might see it again after a week, then a few weeks, and eventually after several months.

If you later forget the answer and press Again, the card starts appearing more often again.

This means two students can study the same deck and end up with completely different review schedules.

What happens when I start a review?

IBonomics builds one review session from the decks you have studied. Cards that need your attention come first, then new cards are added if there is space.

Collect the cards that are due
Review shows cards you have studied before and nothing else. The ones you have waited longest on come first, up to 25 in a session.
Mix the order
Cards are shuffled so you have to remember the answer itself instead of remembering which card comes next.
Repeat cards you forgot
If you press Again, that card appears again a few cards later. This gives you another chance to remember it before the session ends.

Why does review never show me new cards?

Because the two do different jobs. Review exists to bring back what you are about to forget, and mixing unfamiliar cards into it turns a quick revision session into a study session you were not expecting.

New material comes from opening a deck. Study as much of it as you want — a deck is never capped — and from then on those cards look after themselves: they turn up in review exactly when you are due to see them again.

One thing worth knowing. Every new card you learn becomes a card you have to review later, and a card you rate Good today comes back tomorrow. Learn 100 cards in one sitting and most of them are waiting for you the next day, so a steady 20 or so will take you further than one heroic afternoon.